Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Battle Of The Planets Ep5: Ghost Ship Of Planet Mir

"Wanna play?!"

-A fired-up Jason in Bird Missile command mode-

G-Force leaps into action to aid and protect the inhabitants of planet Mir from the evil treachery of Zoltar and his minions in Battle Of The Planets, Episode 5, Ghost Ship Of Planet Mir.Unfortunately this ghost ship isn't actually from Mir, but rather Spectra.Mark, Jason, Princess, Tiny and Keyop are interrupted from a rare opportunity to enjoy actual recreation, restfulness and some rare downtime for this makeshift family of families.While water skiing, fans of the series are treated to a rare glimpse of Mark's motor boat which actually shares the same colors as his Summit Jet.Additionally, Jason relaxes with his legs crossed like a lady on the beach with Tiny. Men are always razzed if they cross their legs in such a manner as if to suggest they are overly feminine. Hey man, like Jason, man among men, I've crossed my legs from time to time out of sheer relaxation too so watch out. Enough with those stereotypes already. As a matter of fact, Captain Jean-Luc Picard often crosses his legs on the bridge of the Enterprise. Even Worf sips a cup of tea with his pinky finger pointed away from the tea cup (ST:TNG, S3, Ep3, The Survivors). So there you go - a Klingon warrior mind you.While on Mir, viewers are also treated to new information regarding the Phoenix. Whilst, searching for the Ghost Ship amidst fog as thick as pea soup, it is noted the ship is also fitted with high beam lights on both fuel pods.Mark checks in with Chief Anderson to determine if a fog making machine is Mir defense equipment or of Spectran origin. Anderson suggests a precision hit of the device is worth the risk. Jason quickly obliges firing off a round of approximately six, sweet Bird Missiles. Jason is positively missile-launch happy in this episode. This is indeed a Jason Bird Missile episode as Jason attempts to take out what appears to be part of a ghost fleet.The red framing denotes anxiety, fear or anger.The effort has little effect as Spectran space saucers emerge from the oceans of Mir from within the destroyed ghost fleet.Not surprising our hero is fairly effective with his launch to hit ratio. Meanwhile, the Spectran goons are remarkably inept, despite the size of their fleet, at actually laying a strike on the Phoenix. It's truly pathetic. Well, that and Tiny's flawless performance as a pilot of course.By the end of the conflict, Jason completely empties and unloads the Bird Missile bay. He even continues pushing the button only to find no missiles remain. He tries anyway.It's funny, playing Atari video games was often like that too. You fired and fired but shot blanks. You had nothing left in the tank but prayed something might happen to destroy an incoming attack. Funny how weapons systems alert you to your stock and offer warnings regarding your weapons systems today, but there was no warning like that on Battle Of The Planets back in the day. Keep firing and just hope you don't run out.With the Phoenix weapons systems depleted, the vessel takes evasive action for the ocean, but is aided by a group of three fighter jets, which take out the remainder of the Spectran fleet. The incredible maneuvers of these friendlies save the day.Without much fanfare, Battle Of The Planets or Gatchaman builds upon its growing mythology by introducing Colonel Cronus and his high fliers, but without formally announcing who they are in this installment. It's more or less a tease of things to come. In effect, little does Mark know, he was actually saved by his father on this day.The team resumes its vacation on Sunset island. That actually sounds good right about now in the dead of winter.Science Ninja Team Gatchaman title: The Ghost Fleet From Hell.Up Next: Big Robot Gold Grab.